Commonly used open surgical procedures such as tissue resection for use in treatment of benign and malignant tumors of the liver and other organs have several key shortcomings affecting efficacy, morbidity and mortality. In many cases, open surgical resection may carry risks of complication that are not justified by potential benefit, or they may not be practically possible due to anatomical limits on access to the target tissue. To help overcome these limitations, some percutaneous mono-polar radio frequency (RF) devices have been used in tissue ablation and resection. These mono-polar devices carry their own risks and limitations known in the art. There is a need for tissue ablation systems that overcome the shortcomings of open surgery techniques and existing percutaneous devices.
It may be desirable to provide an endoscopically deployable tissue ablation device that can be navigated under ultrasound and/or fluoroscopy. Such devices may be operable through minimally-invasive surgical endoscopes (e.g., gastrointestinal endoscopes, other endoscopes using natural body orifices, and/or laparoscopes that utilize only small percutaneous access openings).